Clachnacuddin see off Nairn St Ninian to keep up winning run in Highlands and Islands League
CLACHNACUDDIN Women manager Rob Macleod says everything has gone according to plan so far in the Highlands and Islands League as they continued their winning start to the season with a 3–1 victory over Nairn St Ninian.
The Lily Ladies took a 2–0 lead at half time with goals from Chloe Macleod and Betty Ross.
But Nairn St Ninian pulled one back five minutes into the second half through Jennifer Saunders.
Both teams created chances for more goals, but Clach took maximum points after Nicky Macdonald scored in the final minute.
Macleod says the start to the campaign shows the good team ethos and togetherness in the squad.
He says four wins out of four in the league, as well as reaching the Highlands and Islands League Cup semi final, gives them confidence they can win silverware this season.
Speaking about the victory over Nairn St Ninian, he said: “We can always be happy with a win,” he said.
“Every week there are things I mention to the girls that we need to work on at some point or another.
“A number of our players were solid, but there were some things we could have done better.
“But hats off to them all, the direction that we are giving them they are listening to and are putting that into practice.
“We are getting goals from different players and on another day we could have scored double figures, but the Nairn goalkeeper was excellent.”
Nairn St Ninian manager Ross Hepburn was disappointed not to leave Millburn Academy with any points.
But he says things are moving in the right direction at the club as they are proving to be a more competitive team than last season.
“The work rate was there, but little mistakes cost us in the end,” he said.
“But it is all a learning curve, from where we have come from to where we are now has been massive.
“We were lacking in the defensive area towards the end and tired legs didn’t help.
“But we have been building from last season, we have been working hard in training to ensure we are performing.
“There are plenty teams in the league who are now scared to come and play us which is good to see.
“When I first came in, we were losing by eight or nine goals.
“Now we are pushing teams all the way to the end, it is all about that and keep working.
“We are looking to improve from last season, whether that is one place or two places and also improve our goal tally.”
